Hendricks v. State

Citations

• 79 Miss. 368

Syllabus

<p>1. Statutoey CONSTRUCTION. Penal statute. Code 1893, \\ 1068. Laws ' 1900, p. 140.</p> <p>Penal statutes are to be strictly construed, and a laborer who has contracted in writing to labor in making a crop on shares for another, but has never entered upon the service or gone upon the employer’s premises, cannot be convicted for leaving his employer or abandoning- his premises, under code 1893, 1068, amended Laws 1900, p. 140, making it a misdemeanor for any laborer, renter or “share-cropper,” who has contracted in writing to labor for another, to leave his employer or the leased premises before the expiration of his contract.</p> <p>3. Constitutional Law. Statutes. Courts.</p> <p>The courts should not decide the constitutionality of a statute unless it be necessary to the disposition of a cause.</p>